The United States GP saw Max Verstappen extend his Formula 1 world driver's championship lead over Lewis Hamilton by 10 points.
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Formula 1 is often at its absolute best when drivers are pushed to the absolute limit to secure the win. In that sense, the United States GP did not disappoint in the slightest.
Max Verstappen took the win in the end, but he had to put up with an almighty charge from Lewis Hamilton. The Mercedes driver ended up finished only 1.3 seconds behind the Dutchman.
In a sense, he gave it everything he had. But Verstappen and Red Bull had just enough pace to see out the win – and extend their lead atop the world driver’s championship standings.
What a race from our title contenders ??
Take a bow @Max33Verstappen and @LewisHamilton! #USGP ?? #F1 pic.twitter.com/2jQkylJ8C3
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 24, 2021
With 5 rounds of the season remaining, the gap between the two is now 12 points. That isn’t a massive lead considering how close things have been this season. But it is a significant gap, meaning Mercedes will have to put in quite a bit of work in order to catch up.
That being said, the victory wasn’t the only major talking point of the United States GP. Let us now analyse the big takeaways from a thrilling race in Austin, Texas.
Moreso than the result of the race, what stood out was the manner in which Verstappen held off Hamilton. The British driver was at his imperious best, driving the car as close to the limit as possible. At one point it looked like he might just reclaim the lead. That he did not was down not just to the speed of the Red Bull’s.
As Verstappen later admitted, he was pushed hard throughout the race. But it is these types of race wins that are all the more sweet in the aftermath. Crucially for Verstappen and Red Bull, these are the kind of races that championship contenders aim to win.
Mercedes, on the other hand, felt as if they did all they could and still found themselves second best on the day. It’s not the worst way to lose; it’s better to know that, as a team, all possible routes to a win were explored. What should be worrying, however, is that this might be a theme over the next two races too.
The Red Bull’s have traditionally performed well at both Mexico and Brazil, and their car is the most consistent on the grid at the moment. Should this theme continue, it might well be more heartache for Mercedes in the near future – despite all of their best efforts.
In the battle for ‘best of the rest’ among the constructors, it is Ferrari and McLaren who are likeliest to take that spot. And the US Grand Prix saw both McLaren drivers chasing the tails of a Ferrari in front. Daniel Ricciardo finished an impressive fifth but could not catch Charles Leclerc in fourth.
Carlos Sainz, on the other hand, was in seventh – behind Ricciardo and Valtteri Bottas. However, he finished ahead of Lando Norris – and this means the Ferraris scored more points. As of now, McLaren are still in third place with 254 points. However, Ferrari are hot on their heels with 250.5 points.
Speaking of teams in the midfield, it was a day to forget for both AlphaTauri and Alpine. Pierre Gasly was forced to retire but the bigger blow came for Alpine; both Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso were unable to finish the race. To make matters worse, both cars seemed well off the pace.
Alpine have struggled for consistent results since Ocon’s shock victory in the Hungarian GP. The French team appeared to have turned a corner at that point but, as of now, are yet to be the type of force they were even in 2020, when they were regularly among the points and even snagged three podium finishes.
Speaking of inconsistent point scorers, say hello to Aston Martin. The British team have had an up and down 2021, a far cry to how consistent they were in 2020. And it hasn’t been all smooth sailing for Sebastian Vettel either. Indeed, the US Grand Prix saw him end an extremely unwanted streak.
His 10th place finish at the Circuit of the Americas saw him break a pointless streak that stretched four races. His last points finish came in the farcical Belgian GP. Since then, he had struggled to come close to a top 10 finish in subsequent races. Whether or not Vettel can build on this result towards the end of the season remains to be seen.
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